UN Agency Seeks Asylum For Iraqi Refugees

A Red Crescent camp for displaced Iraqis out the outskirts of Baghdad (file photo) (epa)
January 9, 2007 -- The UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, today urged governments to grant asylum to Iraqis fleeing their home country.

The agency said Iraqis should be considered refugees in light of serious instability and risk of human rights violations in Iraq.

On January 8, the UNHCR launched an emergency appeal for $60 million to help the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis displaced by the violence.